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Mary Brunkow at her dining table at 4:30 a.m. Pacific Time during the initial-response interview.Ross Colquhoun

On Monday, the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute bestowed the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly upon Mary E. Brunkow — a graduate of the University of Washington — alongside Frederick J. Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for revolutionary findings related to peripheral immune tolerance that shields the body from the immune system’s own attacks.”

Brunkow serves as a senior program manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and obtained her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the UW in 1983. Following this, Brunkow achieved her doctoral degree from Princeton University in 1991.

Brunkow’s award-winning investigations date back to her collaboration with Ramsdell at Celltech Chiroscience in Bothell, Washington. Together, the researchers discovered a mutation in a gene named foxp3, which causes mice to be vulnerable to a certain skin condition. Human mutations of the foxp3 equivalent gene also contribute to IPEX syndrome, characterized by intestinal issues, diabetes, and scaly, itchy skin.

Later, Sakaguchi clarified the function of the wild-type foxp3 gene in the formation of specific white blood cells called regulatory T cells. These cells, identified by Sakaguchi, prevent other T cells from mistakenly attacking healthy tissues. Additionally, regulatory T cells instigate a cessation of activity once the body has controlled an infection.

These discoveries offered perspectives on the notion of “peripheral immune tolerance,” which regulates the immune system by preventing autoimmune reactions that may harm healthy tissues. This field, which the current Nobel Prize recognizes, holds potential for advancing treatments for cancers and autoimmune disorders and for enhancing methods to minimize transplant rejection.

Brunkow was initially unaware that she had been granted the Nobel Prize. She discovered the news when the family pet signaled someone at their entrance this morning — an AP journalist seeking to interview her.

Brunkow becomes the sixth UW alumnus to earn a Nobel Prize, joining the ranks of Jeffrey C. Hall, George Hitchings, George Stigler, Martin Rodbell, and Linda B. Buck. Hitchings, Stigler, and Buck all completed their bachelor’s programs at UW, graduating in 1927, 1931, and 1975, respectively. Rodbell and Hall obtained their doctoral degrees from UW in 1954 and 1971, respectively.

The last Nobel Prize awarded to a Seattle-based scientist was given to David Baker, a biochemistry professor at the UW School of Medicine and director of the UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design. Baker was honored with the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

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